“Disrupted realism is a term that describes works of art made by artists who have deviated from the norms of realism. These deviations, which may include one or more formal elements – such as, line, form and color – are made intentionally, often through improvisation, to serve expressive purposes. By “disrupting” and expanding the tradition of realism, artists may suggest time, memory, and individual experience or refer to digital, photographic, or cinematic sources. It is a subjective approach to painting that favors perception over seeing and embraces subjectivity.” from Disrupted Realism, Paintings for a Distracted World by John Seed.
Anne Harris takes us into that feeling of disruption in a way that we can all relate to: the early morning brain fog. You don’t have to be a psychologist or an art historian to understand this one. The frazzled ends of the woman’s hair wave about like antenna seeking a signal from somewhere, something that can be latched onto to guide this figure forward. The extremely long red robe seems like a fun-house mirror’s reflection of reality, yet is the actuality perceived in the morning haze of the figure’s mind. The red bathrobe stands in a surround of pale, fuzzy, gray highlights, representing the presence of life which will emerge to become the day-to-day world of activity. Yet, for the present, all is safeguarded in the comforting warmth of the red robe. When John Seed asked the artist how her work disrupts or deviates from traditional realism, Harris said, “I can’t even engage with the term’traditional realism.’ Painting is fiction, invention. That is what interests me.”
We all know times when the figure in this painting represents how we feel. Some incorporeal fisherman has netted our brains. We are pulled first one way and then another, trying to understand surroundings which can’t be seen clearly. At the same time, we do not struggle because the whole thing is just too bizarre, and we don’t want to admit that we have been caught in the net. The Net metaphor can have some obvious implications with regard to our daily lives in cyberspace; however, this figure can surely imply other nets into which we have fallen in terms of our belief systems, whether religious, political, or historical. This man in gray, positioned in a beige/brown surround, may be a type of modern Everyman caught in a trap of conflicting perceptions that originate he knows not where. When Belcin was asked how his work disrupts reality, he responded, “…the main element that I work with is the action that’s taking place behind the visual elements: that which is not actually represented but only felt or perceived.”
“My aim is to make images that resonate today and that could only be made in this era,” says Justin Bower. The doubled imagery of the figure in the painting above takes us into the world of bits and bites, mega and giga, yet the face is still recognizably human while it is being shape-shifted by whatever technology attempts to reorganize it. I posit that were this image shown to someone before the computer age, there would have been no way for it even to be “seen.” Yet, we in this age recognize it at least as what can happen when one’s computer is having a bad day. On the level of “The Magician,” this image of the coming apart and reshaping of reality is very much akin to the meaning of the tarot card of the same name. Only here instead of earth, water, air, and fire, the computer wizard uses the elements in his or her toolbar to rework reality. When asked how his work distrupts reality, Bower says,”I paint my subjects as destabilized post-humans in a nexus of interlocking spatial systems.”
The cover of John Seed’s book uses a painting by David Bilodeau called Solace (2018). The face and the hand of this figure are finely wrought, but covered with a variety of substances that fall upon it like plaster, as though someone wanted to cover up what was underneath, and hide the reality of solitude. Bilodeau says, “Realism is just a tool to make the dance of painting subtler by calling on me to observe the visual world closely.”
All this disussion of disruption in terms of painting leads to taking a look at another disruptive force that has come to the fore in recent years: Blogging. Blogging can be seen as a move toward the democratization of the word and the resulting loosening of the grip of the literary gatekeepers. John Seed relates how he came to blogging in a way that fits with the whole idea of disruption. In his case, being an artist and art instructor, he had a lot to say about art. However, when he wrote a review of a local art show, in which he seriously wrote about the art, the editors redacted his piece down to comments on a cozy garden art exhibit, so he returned the fee and told them to take his name off the article.
From there he started blogging on art, so he could say what he needed to say, and from there he became a contributor to the Huffington Post, an online news journal. One thing that stood out to me about his approach to the art in this book is that he allowed the artists to explore their own work publically. He worked from the point of view not of an art critic but of an artist who wanted to allow his fellow artists to speak . His approach was to ask a series of questions, the same ones, to each artist and present their responses along side photos of their work.
When I started to do the Art Blog on my vernellestudio.com website, not knowing of Seed, I proceeded in the same way. I am an artist not an art critic, but I have also studied lots of art history and have things to say about the art I see. I approached my fellow artists with a series of questions designed to elucidate their feelings about art and their own process. Finding another art blogger who had instinctively done the same thing was a nice confirmation that I had landed on the right path.
It seems to me that many things are shifting in our world, not the least of which is the variety of ways in which we can perceive the world around us and express that perception. In order for new things to emerge, the old must be disrupted and the ground broken open so that what germinates below may reach the sun.
The book discussed in this post is Disrupted Realism, Paintings for a Distracted World by John Seed, 2019.
The copyright to the paintings used here and in Seed’s book belong to the artists who created the paintings.
Photos of the paintings were taken by me and used here in accordance with Fair Use Policy for discussion, critique and review.
Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com or her author page at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com and etsy.com/shop/VernelleArt Studio.
Wine! Oh, the Art of It.
Wine has been around since mankind first started cultivating land. As I have stated in my About page, two things that one can count on as universal human productions are art and alcoholic beverages. Here, of course, we focus on painting and wine. For sure, artists have said a few things in their paintings about the dizzying (dare I say disruptive) effects of the fruit of the vine.
Oh, this picture looks like potential trouble. The young woman’s eyes are a bit too excited – all this attention and the wine, too! The man’s eyes show that he is quite pleased by the effect that his offerings of drink are having. Where might this lead? Well, the complete painting is set in a very well appointed room where not many shenannigans would take place; however, she might just say yes, to a marriage proposal. It has been discovered that the aroma of different wines replicate that of various human pheromones associated with the libido. It obviously didn’t take modern science for Vermeer to know about this – just look at the young woman’s eyes again.
Edouard Manet certainly knew of the folly of wine, notice all of the bottles of champagne that line the bar and the joyous evening activities reflected in the mirror (see the lady’s legs on the trapeze in the upper left corner). Manet’s keen eye also sees another activity. He shows us the face of the barmaid, who looks rather glum despite all the gaiety around her. The barmaids were often known to dispense more than just drinks. Manet has done a bit of a trick with perspective in the way he shows the reflection of the barmaid so that the viewer of the painting can see who is talking to her. To the right of the painting, one sees the reflection of a man’s face, rosy with wine, who may in fact be propositioning the barmaid, something she doesn’t seem too happy about.
Jan Steen, one of the masters of the Dutch Golden Age is known for his earthy representations of life and excess in the time when the Dutch ruled the trade in just about everything. There is a lot of merriment going on in this scene, though it does not seem to come from any special occasion. Rather it is daily life in this affluent Dutch household. There is food everywhere, including on the floor. The lady of the house seems to be “in her cups” and asking for yet another glass of wine, while the husband cheerfully plays fiddle fingers with the maid who is pouring that glass. One child tickles the neck of a sleeping nanny. (Did she have too much wine, too?) A youngster is serving up more food while being distracted by a beggar who has poked his head and outstretched hand through the window. As for anything approaching the intellect, we see that the family is rich enough to afford books, but the lady of the house uses an open book as a footrest. This is a painting of too much of everything and wine is contributing to the disruption – dissolution – of this household.
We’ve all heard of the “sorrows of gin,” but what about the joys of wine?
This portrait from the 19th century shows a gentleman about to enjoy a glass of sherry. He has properly decanted it, and is appraising its wonderous color with a keen eye. The smile on his lips would indicate that his taste buds are warming to the idea of his first sip. We shall presume that he won’t drink the whole bottle, but he does seem to be enjoying this drink in the solitude of his study. Certainly this is a depiction of someone who enjoys a little nip, we hope after having a fine meal.
While there are many paintings that warn of the dangers of drink, there are also ones that show the delight of sharing a glass with someone special. It is clear in this Vermeer painting that the young woman is enjoying the company of this officer. There is no public activity depicted. The setting would seem to be the quiet of a well-kept home, in a space where the woman, who is quite well covered in terms of her clothing, feels comfortable. The man wears a very expensive hat showing that he is someone of rank. One gets the idea of two people who are enjoying one another’s company. This woman’s face seems shiny and warm, not half delirious like the young woman in Girl with a Glass of Wine. This is a scene of appropriate behavior and yes, wine is there as a complement to the occasion of this visit.
Wine, wine, fruit of the vine, can certainly influence any situation, though it need not be disruptive. Of Art and Wine supports drinking responsibly, and enjoying it.
Paintings used in this segment of the post are in Public Domain.
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©marjorie vernelle 2022